I am going to try casting and ordered a Lee production pot IV. It is a little smaller than I expected and now I am wondering if it is a good idea to melt the raw weights in it and if it will bugger up the valve system. Should a guy melt and flux in another container first or can I go at it in the Lee pot?
melting wheel weights
- Thread starter pdpush
- Start date
There is an incredible amount of sh*t that comes out of the ww. Dirt, dust, and all the clips floating on top. Use a coleman stove and a big pot to smelt them. Stir and scrape the bottom of your melting pot lots, flux the crap out of them, then pour into ingots. Use the ingots in the production pot. I have the same pot and have had a bit of trouble pouring even using the above method. It was my fault not the pots. HTH.
Drew_CarreyAB
Member
- Location
- Central Alberta
When I first got my bottom pour, I melted everything in it. It's ok if you are loading 50-60 rounds at a time(due to the makeup of the wheel weights....ie, may have more tin/antimony/zinc/lead than the last pot you poured) If you want more consistency, use a big pot and melt in bulk, use a Lee ingot mould or a small (12)cupcake pan to make ingots. If you use the pot.....keep the dial @ around 6-7 to start(keeps the zinc solid) Any WW that you come across that have Zn or Fe on them.....weed them out ASAP cause they are zinc or steel......If you get Zinc in the mix......you won't like the outcome, the zinc fubars the mix)makes good bullets, but IMO too hard for hunting with)...... For the site I use, PM me and I'll send you the link...It has helped me immensely and I have been casting for about 5 years now...
I use a dutch oven and a turkey fryer to smelt with to make the finihsed ingots; I keep a thermometer in t to keep and eye on the melt temp so that the garbage that Drew talks about does not acidentally get melted in. A buddy tried a camp stove; it worked, but not nearly as well as the setup I have.
blacksmithden
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Oh, dont' worry. It'll start to drip soon enough no matter what you do. They didn't earn the nick name "lee-ko-matic" for nothing. Try to keep as much dirt out of it as you can by melting down and fluxing the lead first. I had one that started to drip almost from the first day I got it, and I had already melted and cleaned up the lead. After the 3rd or 4th use, the heating element on it died. I know I could have went after Lee for warranty, but didn't want to be bothered. I took the pot off it and put it on top of a tank mounted propane burner. Eventually, the leaking got so bad, I threw the whole thing in the garbage.
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
I do all of mine in a stainless steel pot on a propane coleman stove. I use a ladle.
I've used the Lee, for a few batches, when a friend loaned me his. i had leakage trouble right away, because I tried to melt the weights in the pot.
I think most users melt the weights in a pot first, to get the crap skimmed off.
There is always crap at the bottom of the melt pot too.
If you decide to wash the wheel weights, and some do, be very VERY careful that you get them absolutely dry. Water, and lead do not mix. a steam explosion will shower you with hot lead, and it's not funny, I've been there. But not from washing, I never do that. I had my quench bucket too close.
I've used the Lee, for a few batches, when a friend loaned me his. i had leakage trouble right away, because I tried to melt the weights in the pot.
I think most users melt the weights in a pot first, to get the crap skimmed off.
There is always crap at the bottom of the melt pot too.
If you decide to wash the wheel weights, and some do, be very VERY careful that you get them absolutely dry. Water, and lead do not mix. a steam explosion will shower you with hot lead, and it's not funny, I've been there. But not from washing, I never do that. I had my quench bucket too close.
I'd avoid smelting in the Lee, as a matter of fact, I'd avoid using the Lee, as above poster says, the leekomatic will eventually drive you to drink. I smelt with a turkey fryer arrangement and cast iron pot, I ladle pour with a 20 lb. Lyman furnace and bottom pour from a 22 lb. RCBS unit. Life's too short to fight with a leaking pot when you want good bullets.
I have used my poor old Lee Pro IV for melting a huge amount of ww. I flux the mix with that white stuff (Marvelux?). You can get away with that method if you flux, and you will need to clean the valve once in a while. The top end of the needle valve is slotted for a screwdriver, so a few twists will likely keep you operating.
I actually have two IV's and the bigger (20lb) one as well. Just a little care and some common sense will go a long ways towards a successful pour. It doesn't need to be a major production of colossal proportions!!
I actually have two IV's and the bigger (20lb) one as well. Just a little care and some common sense will go a long ways towards a successful pour. It doesn't need to be a major production of colossal proportions!!
I've been happy with my Lee PP IV. I've melted lots of WW in it, and managed to stop the drip by cleanin the pour spout. If it ever dies, I will probably buy another the same. I am planning on making a larger propane fired pot for melting larger quantity into ingots, but for now do everything with the Lee.
I melt all my WW in a cast iron pot on top of a Coleman stove. Then I flux and then pour into ingot moulds 1 lb . It worked good and you have some idea of how much you are using and how much you need. Then I use the bottom pour RCBS 22lb and it works great. I still flux with bee's wax just to make sure. Oh and mine leeks as well I was told they all do in time. I mean it is not to bad and you can live with it. Just throw the little gray men back into the pot. lol and it might be for sale as a package
Denny has certainly echoed my experiences about the Lee pot leaking.
I started melting in cast iron pots on electric stove/Coleman stove/hot plate, pouring the bullets with a dipper.
Then I got a Lee smelter. I soon got so tired of trying to clean up the valve, or having to do something to stop the leaks, that I just plugged up the bottom release and used my dipper to pour the bullets. I like the dipper.
A point about heating the alloy. When the Lee pot is full, the dial needs to be turned to about seven or so. As the mixture goes down, you have to keep lowering the heat adjustment, or the mixture gets too hot.
I still prefer a dry wood splinter for testing the heat. Old habits die hard, and I cut my teeth around men who were pouring babbit (same thing) bearings, heating the mixture in cast iron pots in a forge. They constantly tested the heat of the mixture with a wood splinter, puring the bearing when the heat was right. I soon knew what the splinter looked like when the mixture was right heat.
I started melting in cast iron pots on electric stove/Coleman stove/hot plate, pouring the bullets with a dipper.
Then I got a Lee smelter. I soon got so tired of trying to clean up the valve, or having to do something to stop the leaks, that I just plugged up the bottom release and used my dipper to pour the bullets. I like the dipper.
A point about heating the alloy. When the Lee pot is full, the dial needs to be turned to about seven or so. As the mixture goes down, you have to keep lowering the heat adjustment, or the mixture gets too hot.
I still prefer a dry wood splinter for testing the heat. Old habits die hard, and I cut my teeth around men who were pouring babbit (same thing) bearings, heating the mixture in cast iron pots in a forge. They constantly tested the heat of the mixture with a wood splinter, puring the bearing when the heat was right. I soon knew what the splinter looked like when the mixture was right heat.
You take a small splinter of DRY wood, maybe up to as wide as an inch, and thin. The old timers used to say pine, but spruce is OK. You push it into the hot mixture for about two seconds, and pull it out. The temperature of the mixture is judged by how brown the splinter got. Yes, it takes practice, but a good procedure and a trained eye can get the temperature very close.
Obviously, better equipped pouring operations will have a thermometer, to get the temperature exactly right. But I am talking about all of us that don't have top line equipment.
